Reparations
by Winterkisses
Summary: The minute hand was a block of space away from the black 12 on her simple black and white clock. Arthur was a man of his word. He promised that he will be back. With intense concentration, her eyes trailed the second hand of the clock. 3...2..1...
1. Chapter 1

**Reparations**

_Author's note:_

_I am such a fan of Inception and the Arthur/Ariadne pairing. Those two are seriously meant for each other. I actually meant this to be a one- shot. I think the ending of this is perfect enough but if you guys think that I should continue writing, I will most definitely do so. I look forward to reading your comments!_

_Please review! I need a beta reader by the way!_

_

* * *

_

"_One month."_

She closed her eyes, letting herself drown in the memory that she had been trying to suppress. She could almost feel his warm breath on her neck and hear his hypnotic, steady voice.

"_I'll be back in a month." _

Then, he was gone.

Just like that.

She took in a deep and shaky breath, trying to recover from the deep sense of longing and depression that the memory of him elicits. Her eyes went to the calendar, looking at the date circled in red. It was a month after he made that promise - a month after Fisher's inception. It took all the will-power and resolve she had left to try to move on and continue being the university student she was. Every class she had went straight by her and she found herself struggling to pay attention.

Too much had changed. Many people she was close to left her. Not just Arthur. Her roommate decided to move out of their apartment to live with her boyfriend, her best friend disrupted her studies to move back to the states and even Professor Miles was no longer here. He had resigned to spend more time with Cobb and his grandchildren. Her favourite professor and mentor was gone, replaced by a younger, sharper teacher who did not exude the warmth and friendliness that she grew to associate with Professor Miles.

You would think all these changes would make moving on easier but that was hardly the case. She felt like the world was going forward without her. She was rooted on the spot, forced to watch the world pass her by.

Every day that passed, increased the intensity of mixed emotions that was building up in her. The fear, excitement, anticipation, anxiety, worries and hope was at its peak now that the day she had been counting down to has finally, finally arrived.

Her eyes darted back and forth from the clock, calendar and the door. She felt like an idiot, crazy idiot sitting at the table counter by her door, just waiting and staring.

The minute hand was only a block of space away from the big black **12 **on her simple black and white clock. Arthur was a man who keeps his word: if he said he would be here in a month's time, he will. There is still a few seconds left before it is a month and a day since he made that promise.

"He _promised_ me. He will come." She reassured herself out loud.

With intense concentration and hope, her eyes trailed the second hand of the clock.

The second hand was closing in.

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

The door swung open and Ariadne could feel relief flooding her. It felt like a huge burden have been lifted and she felt truly liberated for the first time.

That relief, however, was short lived.

Standing at her door was not the immaculate Arthur in three-piece suit she was familiar with.

The man who stood at her door was nothing like Arthur. He had short light brown hair that was usually neat but now looked dishevelled. He was not clothed in the casual formal clothes she came to know him for but in a black suit. It was his eyes that stole her breath away and made her insides feel like they were right in the middle of a snowstorm in the North Pole. His blue-green eyes were filled with sorrow that was heartbreaking, breathtaking and anxiety-inducing all at the same time. Her heart was seized with such fear, such panic that she could not breathe even if she tried. She could only make out a word.

"Eames?"

The distraught looking Eames looked up to meet her eyes. They were filled with unshed tears. The strangeness of the situation, him turning up instead of Arthur, him looking like someone sucked the life out of him and replaced it only with all the sad things in the world made her fear the answers to her next set of questions.

"What…what happened? Is Arthur - is everyone okay?"

* * *

It had taken months. She had expected recovery to take a much longer time.

Time, strangely, passed a lot more slowly than she thought it would. Six months felt like six years. Some much had changed. A sense of déjà vu hit her; she realized those six months ago, she sat exactly where she was, thinking about how much her life had changed. She remembered hating all those changes, she remembered…waiting.

Waiting for _him_.

An insistent firm knocking on the door stopped her from delving any deeper into her musings.

She unlocked the door and flung it open, expecting it to be her annoying neighbour hoping to borrow something.

What she found, instead of her neighbour, was her expectation failing her yet again.

Standing in front of her was the man she was dying, literally dying, to see…six months ago. If she was not so shell-shocked, she would have taken a moment to laugh at the irony of the situation: the man she was dying to see became the person she would rather die than to meet again in just six months.

He stood there looking just as he always had: immaculate, prim and proper. He was in his usual getup: slick gelled dark brown hair, blue long-sleeved shirt and a light grey three-piece suit. Only thing different was his dark brown eyes, they held what seemed like regret and hope. His shoulders were tense as he gave her an apologetic lopsided smile.

* * *

He was nervous.

Heck, nervous was a big time understatement about what he was feeling. He tried to pin down a word to describe the brewing storm in him that was threatening to be unleashed, only to realize it could not be described by one word. It could only be described by several: fear, excitement, anticipation, anxiety, worries and hope. They were a contradiction of emotions. Above all, he was gripped most with regret. He regretted not meeting Ariadne six months ago, he felt like he owned her a huge apology and more.

It took him a lot of courage to travel down to Paris. In fact, it took him six months worth of courage. His fist lingered, his knuckles brushing the surface of the door. He knew that once he knocked, there is no more running away. He has to face her, face this and face his feelings - for real.

Holding on to the rash and impulsiveness that drove him to travel here, he pushed all thoughts and emotions aside and focused only on knocking. Oddly, once his knuckles came into contact with the surface of the door, he could not bring himself to stop. There was a raising irrational fear that was growing inside him. His mind imagined scenarios of why she was not responding to the knocks. With every 'maybe', his knocks grew more insistent, louder and desperate.

Then, his knuckles hit the empty air.

He took in a sharp intake of air and let his arm drop to his sides. He had dreamed of her in those six months. In his dreams, she looked the same as she always had. Now that Ariadne materialized right in front of him in her white blouse and dark blue jeans in flesh, he realized that he was clearly not able to imagine Ariadne with all her perfection. Especially the way she just fills the surrounding with her presence and the aura of freshness and lightness that she exudes where ever she goes. He noted that her hair grew longer; they were also slightly darker than he remembered. Her soulful and mesmerizing brown eyes were staring at him in shock. She still had her signature accessory round her neck: her scarf. It was red like her lips which were shaped in a small 'O'.

It became obvious to him then that Eames _was _right, he clearly lacked imagination.

Moments seemed to pass by with her staring at him. A great crushing sense of nervousness had him rooted to the ground, banishing his thoughts about running. He hated how she always made him feel so out of control, she made him into this coward that only wants to run away.

He squared himself for whatever that might be coming his way. He decided to start by giving an apologetic smile.

"Hey."

Her face was drained of all colours at the sound of his voice. She continued to stand there, still staring at him and the only movement was her closing her mouth. She chewed, worrisome, on her bottom lip. He could see that she was contemplating what to say, her hesitance obvious and understandable. Her eyes stared at her feet for a moment before she looked up at him sharply. Her beautiful brown eyes marred with restrained anger.

"What…why…why are you here, Arthur?"

He recoiled involuntarily from the acidity of her voice. He tried helplessly to suppress the hurt that was blossoming in his chest.

"To fulfil my promise."

"What promise?"

"I promised that I did come back."

"You promised to come back _SIX_ months ago. That was _months _ago." Her voice dropped to a harsh whisper. Her voice was so filled with pain, anger and hurt that made him hates himself for what he did. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and apologize over and over again and he wished he could turn back the clock to undo his wrongs.

"I know I am late, I am really sorry. Please...please hear me out."

He watched as she lifted her left hand to cover her eyes, a habit of hers that surfaced whenever she was distressed. The familiarity of the action brought a small smile to his lips. A small smile that froze when his eyes landed on the silver ring that graced her third finger. He stepped forward; closing the distance between them so he could scrutinize it. It was a simple single princess cut stone set on a plain thin silver band. Looking at it, he felt as if someone doused him with a bucket of ice cold water and the coldness of the water seeped right into his bones.

"Ariadne."

She was surprised to see him so close to her when she removed her hand but she made no move to put distance between them and merely stared dumbly at him.

"Why is there a ring on your finger?"

Her eyes betrayed her surprise and guilt, "Arthur, I – "

A voice from the inside of her apartment cut her off. "Who is that at the door, love?"

There was something eerily familiar about that voice that made his heart freeze over. He refused to feed his suspicions and kept his eyes trained on Ariadne, waiting for her answer to his question. There were movements at the corner of his eyes. An arm wrapped around Ariadne's waist from behind and the figure towering over her, planted a kiss on her forehead. It was such an intimate gesture that it took every bit of his will-power and resolve not to lunge at that guy.

Braving himself, he slid his gaze upwards to meet the gaze of the intruder who confirmed his suspicion with a loud welcome and hearty hug.

"Arthur darling! Fancy seeing you here! What brings our famous stick-in-the-mud here?"

It was like someone flicked a switch in him, he felt all emotions leave him. The blank, detached and cold Arthur took over. The guard he so willing let down only for Ariadne was back in its place.

"Eames, be a darling and go get Arthur some tea, will you?"

Eames let go of Arthur and clapped his shoulders, seemingly oblivious to the change that occurred in the point man. Turning towards Ariadne, he gave a mock salute and pecked her cheek before stalking back into the apartment. There was a vague clacking coming from the apartment that filled the tense silence that was hanging like taut, wound up cables ready to snap between Arthur and Ariadne.

Looking at him apologetically, Ariadne was the first one to break the unbearable silence. She was staring at his feet, refusing to look up and meet his eyes.

"Arthur…I'm sorry."

She paused for a beat before continuing in a soft whisper.

"You're too late."


	2. Chapter 2

**Reparations**

_Author's note: Decided to continue. (: I probably won't have too many chapters though. Maybe...10 super long chapters. :D_

_Huge thanks to LeilaLives, mustikas, ShadowedTaco who are following this story and especially to mustikas, ShadowedTaco for reviewing. I appreciate it BIG TIME! (:_

_Thanks to all those who read the story too! (:_

_I don't think this chapter is as awesome as the previous chapter but hope you like it none-the-less!_

_PS: I didn't want to use Ari cause it was so common so I came up with using this other name instead. I really like this name and it sounds a lot more beautiful and softer too._

_

* * *

_

Her eyes flew open and she could feel her heart racing. Her pulse was made erratic by the dream.

It has been a while since she dreamt and the sensation of it was so vivid and real…

She reached for her totem which was by her bedside and toppled it. As it fell the way she designed it to, it took away a bit of her fear and returned her her sanity. However, guilt overwrote all the other emotions compelling Ariadne to get out of her room, her apartment and most importantly, away from Eames.

She slipped out of the bed as quietly as she could. With one hand, she wrapped her indigo coat around her and slipped her totem into her coat pocket with the other. Once she was ready, she closed the door of her room and her apartment softly. Adopting a fast stride, she found herself almost jogging to her sanctuary of peace and safety: _Pont au Change_. It was one of her favourite bridges besides the ancient _Pont Neuf _and the intriguing _Pont de Bir-Hakeim_. She always loved the view from this bridge. She could see the beautiful architectural designs of _La Conciergerie_ and the picturesque view of _Île de la Cité_.

It was early in the morning, with a couple more hours to dawn. Paris was quiet; there were few awake and walking around. Most of the people on the streets of Paris were the homeless.

She leaned against the side of the bridge looking towards _Pont Neuf_ and merely stared into the dark waters of Seine River, letting her mind wonder. She found herself thinking about the dream that she just had.

In her dream, she was running through the streets of Paris, weaving through the different alleys with adrenaline pumping in her blood. She was running away from Arthur who was catching up fast. The dream ended when he reached forward and caught her scarf, pulling it off her, leaving her neck to feel exposed and vulnerable.

Even a dimwit would know what her subconscious was trying to tell her but she refused to entertain it. Arthur should not even mean anything to her so why would she need to run away from him and why would facing him make her feel insecure and vulnerable?

Her ears picked up on a set of slow footsteps coming towards her from her right. Turning sharply to the origin of the footsteps, her eyes squinted to make out the face of the intruder. When the bridge light hit squarely on his face, her hand went to her pocket, gripping the totem tightly. Even running her fingers over the uneven grooves she carved on purpose and the familiar weight of the totem did little to stop the shiver going down her spine. It freaked her out a little how he kept appearing everywhere: first at her house, then her dreams and now at her safety spot of all places in Paris.

He kept a respectable distance between them and mimicked her posture moments ago. Only he was not staring into the Seine River but in the direction of _Pont Neuf_, not saying a word. There was a moment of companionable silence before Arthur destroyed it with a question asked in that quiet tone of his when he is upset and angry.

"Why Eames?"

His question conjured back the tense atmosphere between them at her doorstops hours ago. Unwilling to answer his question, she shoot him questions of her own.

"Why are you here? How did you know I would be here?"

"I didn't know. I just came here since I couldn't sleep. We walked along this bridge once and you mentioned how much you liked this bridge so I came here. I can't say I wasn't hoping you weren't able to sleep as well. I figured that if you couldn't sleep, you would be here."

His answer brought a frown to her face; he knew her better than she would like him to. She forgot he was the point man, remembering details are what he does best.

"I answered your question. It's your turn now."

"He was there when you weren't," she paused for a moment, contemplating if she should continue but decided to anyway, "and he loves me."

"So do I."

The way he said it was as if it was a fact, a fact which she should have known and was stupid for not knowing, it stirred up anger, annoyance and frustration in her. Throwing him an incredulous look, she bit her lower lip to prevent herself from doing anything more than just glaring at him.

"You don't love me. You are a bloody coward. If you do love me, you would not ask me out on a date then proceed to spend the night with me and _then_ disappear for the next six months. I am not someone you can walk out on. You can't just waltz back into my life six months later, pretending that nothing happened and expect me to take you back."

"I thought you would have waited for me."

There was a hint of anger and disappointment in his voice that pushed her over the edge. Tears welled up in her eyes instantly, threatening to spill over. She held her tears back with all she had.

"I did wait. All I did since you left me was to wait. I tried to do other things but I couldn't. I barely left the house because I was scared that you would visit me when I was out. When Eames appeared on the day you promised to be back, it scared the living daylights out of me because I thought something happened to you which was why he was at my doorstep instead of you. It didn't help that Eames was all broken, distraught and dressed for a funeral. Did you have _any_ idea how _scared _I was? How _worried_ I was?"

Pausing to take a breath, she willed herself to calm down but the anger, disappointment, exasperation and sadness was pouring out of her like an unstoppable volcano eruption. "I waited and waited, I could not date Eames properly even though he was such a gentleman to me. I was constantly distracted by you and the thought of you. I was always wondering when you will return as you promised, worrying if you are well. It was _so_ _tiring_. I was so drained emotionally and for _nothing _because you _never_ showed up." Her voice cracked at this point.

The memories, the depth of the emotions all came rushing back to her, crushing her and sweeping her in like a tsunami. With a shook of her head, she cleared the haunting emotions and memories that were clouding her mind, willing all of it to disappear. Ariadne pulled herself together and in a clear, strong voice she said her final words to him: "Arthur, if this is what you mean by love then I did rather you not love me at all. I don't need your love and I certainly _don't_ love you anymore."

Something she said struck a chord in him. Arthur moved so quickly that she barely saw it coming lest had time to react. Before she knew it, he trapped her between him and the bridge railing. Arthur's face was dangerously near hers. He smelled like Amberwood and fresh Autumn, light yet intoxicating. His warm breath was on her neck, giving her a déjà vu. He was this close to her six months ago in her apartment - moments before they kissed. She shut her eyes, not wanting to look at him because looking at him at this distance would break every self control she has.

"Ariadne, open your eyes."

Resisting him was all she focused on.

"Aria."

She inhaled sharply before she could stop herself. He was using the little nickname he came up with just for her. No one else calls her Aria but him.

"Aria, look at me. Please."

That was all it took, his hypnotic, low, reassuring voice calling her by the name he gave her with such gentleness.

"Aria, look into my eyes and tell me that you don't love me anymore and you don't need my love."

He was gazing down at her now with such intensity, with so much affection, hope, hurt and so much…tenderness that it stole her heart away. She was tired of fighting him. It would have been so easy to just give in but she could not. There was still Eames between them; the sweet Eames who has been nothing but an angel to her unlike Arthur who was every bit a devil.

She could not lie to him yet it was a question she could not answer.

So she did what she could. With all the strength she had left, she push him aside and walked away from him just as the sun rose and spilled its orange glow over the streets of Paris.

* * *

Eames was not stupid.

He knew. He knew all along that they were attracted to each other but he had never seen Arthur make a move on her in real life. The brief kiss, more like a brief peck, they shared in the dream did not count.

In addition, he honestly never planned on falling for her.

That night he appeared at her doorstep only because he needed the company of a friend. The only person he knew and lived in Paris was Ariadne. The death of his beloved sister came as a blow to him, going to her funeral broke something in him. He was her doted her and loved her. He was expecting to attend her wedding, not her funeral. She was young and had a bright future ahead of her but all these were destroyed by some insane guy in her university here in Paris was on a killing rampage.

His lovely sister was killed by some crazy guy in the city of love, the city that his sister so loved.

Ironic, isn't it?

He recalled fondly of how Ariadne just sat him down and made tea for him.

Smoothing chamomile tea.

She waited for him to regain his composure before speaking.

He knew she would have a lot of question and he was grateful for that. Everyone around him refused to talk to him about his sister; they were all walking on minefields around him. Contrary to beliefs, he wanted to talk about his sister. He wanted so badly to spill every thought building up in him and suffocating him. Ariadne listened attentively while he talked and interjected with questions once in a while. It took him a while to realize that for the first time, he willing let someone into his life. There was something about Ariadne, perhaps her inquisitive nature that made opening up to her easy. It didn't feel like you are sharing a personal raw part of you that could one day be used against you, rather it felt as if she was just trying to satisfy her curiosity and at the same time, she really wanted to him. No wonder Cobb let her in, it was difficult not to. It was almost as if she knew that they were both dying to be probed and questioned

The next morning, he woke up on her couch, with her blanket on top of him, to the smell of bacon and eggs wafting from the kitchen.

It began from there with just a simple innocent dinner, to thank her. One dinner became two and two became three and then practically every other night he found an excuse to meet her.

Her presence was comforting to him. He became so used to it that he could not live without it. She became his new totem, rooting him to reality. It seemed silly. He thought he only want sex but it didn't take him long to realize that he was genuinely interested in her. She was an enigma to him: fiercely independent, feisty, curious, intellectual and beautiful. Ariadne seemed to not understand much about herself. She was wildly unpredictable and always found ways to surprise him somehow or another just when he thought he knew her. All the alluring traits rolled into one. Any other woman bore to him. He loves how excited she gets when talking about architectural, how she never lets him take care of her whenever he tries to, how frustratingly stubborn she can be and how her laughter that was so infectious and hearty. Everything about Ariadne made loving her so easy.

In a nutshell, Eames Boulton fell head over heels for Ariadne Evans.

People who knew him would love to declare the day he fell for her as a holiday or maybe even a festival. Even he thought there was no way he would fall for someone. Love had always been a fairytale to him. The whole notion of love was elusive, incomprehensible and even nonsensical to him.

With Ariadne, it was easy, free, not at all difficult and not messy. It was like they were being led by a string together. It even felt right to propose. The idea of spending his whole life with her sat well with him. In fact, it excites him.

He knew there was something holding her back from fully loving him, he was certain that she only had reservation because of his history with uncountable women. He was very sure it was because she was afraid that she would end up to be one of his many "adventures" and her reservation had absolutely nothing to do with Arthur.

Staring at the empty side of the bed where Ariadne had occupied, he was not so sure now.

* * *

"Eames Boulton, it is time you explain to me what are all these not-so-secret midnight rendezvous, endless phone calls and messages about."

The past few days, Eames would wait for her to fall asleep before disappearing and he would only return a few hours later. Whenever they spend time together, it was always interrupted by phone calls and messages. She gave him his own space, not wanting to probe or act like a possessive fiancée but she has reached her threshold she caught him trying to leave while she pretended to sleep.

"It's nothing. I am just going for a walk now."

She repeated the words in the same incredulous tone he used against her weeks ago back at him, "You are going for a walk in the early wee hours of the morning? Do you fancy getting mugged?"

There was a flash of amusement that passed his eyes and he smiled a smile at her that did not quite reached his eyes. "If you could do the same weeks ago, I don't see why I can't. Besides, I am not meeting someone I had feelings for."

Slightly hurt, she exclaimed in exasperation. "Eames, we talked about this. I did not go to meet him. I went for a walk and he happened to be there. It was by chance. Pure coincidence. Beside nothing happened between us. Don't you trust me?"

"Yes, I do. So trust me when I say it's nothing. Go back to bed, love." He leaned down to plant a kiss on her lips but she turned her face away. There was something about unsettling about all these. Something was up and he is insistent on not telling her.

Well, too bad for him. She is going to do all she can to make him confess.

'If you don't tell your future wife what exactly you are up to, she will settle on being your nemesis instead of your wife for the rest of her life."

He grunted, signalling his utter displeasure which almost made her smile.

"So you are blackmailing me now. Devious woman. I am still not telling."

His eyes were shining in defiance and underneath that were a strong determination that frightened her. He has never ever been so determined to deny her anything she wanted to know. She knew instant that there was a secret he was hiding from her, a grave one. She reached out to him; both her hands framed his face. "Please. I need to know, I have to know. You are scaring me with all these secrecy."

"Don't you trust me?" He echoed her question, the defiance in his eyes melted and she knew he was troubled by her plea.

"Of course, I do. I love you and that goes with trusting. It doesn't mean I am not afraid though. I am afraid because all these secrets are making you distant and I hate that. I told you Arthur was with me on the bridge that night. I was completely honest with you when I could easily have lied to you. So please, be honest with me. Tell me."

Their eyes fought a battle, both side stubborn, refusing to back down. It was moments before Eames sat down next to her on the bed with a sigh, one hand reaching out to cradle her face. She leaned in to his hand and waited expectantly, knowing that he will give in to her.

Hesitance was written all over his face along with uncertainties. Finally, with great reluctance, he conceded.

"Arthur has a new job offer for us. "


	3. Chapter 3

**Reparations**

_Author's note: Sorry for the delayed update! Eames may come across as a bit OOC but that is because he is in love and tends to act differently around Ariadne. Afterall, he was a man who had lost someone valuable to him and losing someone of importance changes people, Eames is not an exception.  
_

_A BIG THANK YOU TO: poppies0en0provence,ReadFish, xx99soccerz for adding me on your fav list. ^^ 3_

_ Elizabeth-nightwatchman, iheartcoffee, mithrabear, Ryecroft, xx99soccerz for putting me on your alert list!_

_Nameless visitor, Daydreamer2010 and ShadowedTaco for reviewing!_

_AND everyone who read the story!_

_You guys made my 2010 awesome! :D_

* * *

"And so?"

Ariadne blinked, she was not expecting this answer. His answer did not explain his behavior. They get jobs offers all the time. Since Fisher, there had been rumors out in the underground black market that inception was possible.

Ariadne had followed the news carefully and waited to see if the inception took. It had. Robert Fisher destroyed his father empire. It was international hit news that garnered huge amount of press and attention of many. The unbelievable actions of Fisher along with the timing of the rumors about inception turned the cynics in the black market into believers. There was a flurry to find out the team that accomplished this and everywhere extractors, point men, forgers, architects and chemists were offered jobs. Everyone was trying to accomplish inception.

None had succeeded so far.

Since there was an unwritten agreement between the employers and the employees for complete confidentiality about any extraction/inception job, everyone on Fisher's job was safe. Besides Saito loved and adored them too much, he even promised to offer any form of help if needed. The times they spent and the dangers they went through together formed a tight bond among them. Even though they have all gone back to leading their own lives, most of them still kept in touch with each other with occasional postcards or letter.

Cobb had since retired; there was no way he was going back now that he is finally reunited with his children even if the world of dreaming is an addictive one. He only went into extraction because of what happened with Mal.

She had no doubt that Arthur and Yusuf have been getting offers from various individuals. Eames has but he downed them down, citing her as the reason. Every job had its risk and dangers, most people offering jobs were powerful people who can easily track him down if he failed. Mombasa had always been his safe haven; no one would there to hunt him in Cobol's territory. If any other companies trespass huge corporate companies' territories, like Cobol Engineering, it is akin to asking for death. Eames explained to her that he being in Paris was a colossal gamble; taking jobs would only attract more danger to him and inevitably place Ariadne in danger.

If there is another job offer then just turn it down. Why did Arthur's job offer require so much of his attention?

"So I turned it down but Arthur is insistent on hiring us. Since it is his first time doing this without Cobb, he felt that he would only be comfortable working with us both - people he worked with and he knew he could trust. Yusuf is already on board so there was only the architect, extractor and the forger left."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"It's too dangerous, Ari. I don't want anything to happen to us before the wedding. Most of those calls and messages were attempts to find replacement for us. The rendezvous meeting was to give Arthur contacts who are willing to work for him. That bastard was not satisfied with any of them and insists that we work with him. He kept telling me that if we both agree, the team would be complete."

A frown found its way to her lips as she took in his words.

"You can't decide this for me. I know we are a couple but I like to have a say in this and I have every right to know. Why did he have to go through you instead of just going straight to me?"

Eames hesitated to reply, there were a good amount of guilt stamped on his face.

"I told him not to."

Ariadne was quite sure "told" was not the right word; _threatened_ would probably be more accurate.

There was something else that bugged her. Something did not add up.

"Wait, he said the team would be complete if we both agreed. How is that so? He is the point man, Yusuf is the chemist, you are the forger and I am the architect. The most important role, the extractor, is still missing."

Eames smiled at her a smile that was full of pride and love, "I knew you would pick that up." The smiled soon slipped off and the expression on his face turned serious and rather dark. The change in expression tells her that this was the main reason why he refused to tell her about the new job.

"That insane bastard wants you to be the extractor."

* * *

Tonight, Paris was mercilessly cold.

Despite this, seeing Ariadne still made his inside feel warm and fuzzy. Though he was not expecting her, he was still please to see her. She had a bewildered look on her face, an expression akin to a deer caught in headlights: wide eyed and puzzled.

"Arthur, what is this that I hear about you wanting me to be an extractor?"

He caught himself from smiling; he was not surprised that Eames could not able to keep the job offer a secret from her.

"You are perfect for the job. Cobb told me about how you improvised and came up with the idea that saved the mission. You are intelligent; you learn fast and understand the concept of extracting and shared dreams well enough. Not to mention, you are bold and not afraid of taking risks. You fit the job scope."

She frowned and looked away, considering his words. He could almost see the gears in her brain moving. He knew her well enough to know that she will never back off from a challenge. This is an ultimate chance at something new and exciting.

The man behind her had other thoughts, with a scowl he insisted, "Ariadne, you are not doing this."

"Eames, I am old enough to make this decision myself. Arthur, where and when are we having our first meeting?"

"Can we talk about this in private?" Eames glared at Arthur, signalling for him to leave them both. Arthur nod once and was about to turn and step away from them but Ariadne's cold voice stopped him.

"Stay. Eames, there is nothing to talk about."

"Please, Arthur, just go."

Arthur stood there watching the two glared at each other. It was the battle of will, one that looked like it might just turn ugly. A part of him was full of envy and jealousy that he was not the one arguing with her, trying to protect her and a part of him was thankful that he was not the one Ariadne was upset with. Either way, it told him that he was not in any way a part of her life now. He was in no position to make any demand from her or emotionally affect her.

He was no one.

That very thought upsets him.

Without wasting another second, he turned on his heels and left.

* * *

"There is nothing to talk about."

"Ari, think about it. You are new at this. You don't fully understand the dangers that extraction holds. Designing buildings and extracting are two different things." With the disarming charming smile he uses all the time to get him out of trouble with her, he negotiated. "If you really want to, we will do it after the wedding."

Her eyebrows were knitted in confusion, "Wedding? I don't understand. What difference does it make if we do this before or after the wedding?"

His eyes instantly became unreadable. With a dramatic flair, he placed a hand on his chest and put on an exaggerated agony look on his face. "Oh darling, you've hurt my feelings." It is during times like this, when he makes a joke out of the situation, that she cannot quite tell what exactly he is feeling.

What she could tell was the shift in his demeanor as he closing the distance between them. He lifted up his hand and stroked her cheeks gently with his thumb. "I know I won't be able to dissuade you to not take the job but if anything happens to you… I don't want to live with the regrets that I did not marry you and make you my wife when I had the chance to. I cannot afford to lose any one now."

His eyes were so filled with sincerity and tenderness that her heart melted. This new side of Eames was incredible, the vulnerability and fear he displayed was completely unlike him. It was incredibly sweet of him and it almost made her want to elope with him and marry him right now, almost.

With a soft, reassuring smile, she covered his hand, that was stroking her cheek, with hers. "You won't lose me, I promise."

As the words tumbled out of her mouth, Ariadne made it a point to ignore the growing uncertainties that were gnawing at the pit of her stomach.

* * *

They were back in the warehouse they used in Paris for Fisher's job. Not keen on the idea of wasting time to look for a new place, Arthur believed that the warehouse would continue to serve them well. It was at a quiet location and it had not been compromised while they are gone. The place was unchanged with the exception of the dust that settled on the unused furniture and surroundings. For a moment, he mused over the comparison: while this place remained unchanged, their lives were so different from the past.

On the arrival of his team mates, the Point Man persona came into place. He was all business and focus at the task at hand. They all gathered around the small projector screen in a semi-circle. With a click of a button, the portrait of their target grace the screen.

"Our target."

Eames merely cocked an eyebrow up, Yusuf gulped – Arthur was sure that Yusuf was thinking about his daughter who is nearly six – and Ariadne gasped with horror etched on her face. Arthur watched her expression change: curiosity was quickly replaced by confusion then anger and regret. The transition happened so quickly he would have missed it if he was not staring at her so intently. He knew, without a doubt, what was going to happen: she would stand up and walk right out of the warehouse.

She was barely on her feet when he spoke.

"Aria, please. Just let me finish."

It was underhanded of him to use his nickname for Ariadne so easily in front of Eames. He was flaunting their closeness outright and from the corner of his eyes, he noted Eames annoyance and discomfort. Eames and Arthur were both watching her, awaiting her next move. Her internal battle was clearly written on her face, transparency is one of her biggest weakness.

With a disgruntled glare at Arthur, Ariadne chose to sit down.

Her actions did not come as a surprise to him. Judging from Eames's expression, her obedience was certainly unwelcomed.

"I am sure you have seen her on news or read about her on the newspaper. Emily Adams, age 6, killed both her parents."

The picture of the innocent-looking, beautiful strawberry blonde hair child with big light grey eyes was replaced by a golden blonde hair lady in her late 40s.

"This lady is Elizabeth Adams, Emily's paternal aunt, hired us to find out why. Elizabeth is convinced that Melinda Jones plotted the murder. Melinda Jones is Emily's guardian and her maternal grandmother."

The projector screen showed Emily parents' wedding photo. Melinda Jones had dark auburn hair tinged with white, she was huge and burly and her eyes lacked warmth. She was a stark contrast against her tall and lanky daughter who had the same auburn hair and light grey eyes that radiated with joy, happiness and warmth. The groom was tall, lean and had the golden blonde hair and open, friendly dark brown eyes as his sister.

The only person who was not at all happy in that picture was the grandmother, Melinda.

"Our job is to extract the events of the day Emily's parents died from Emily."

"Why not extract from Melinda?"

"She took part in the military programme that came up with the PASIV device. She knows everything there is to know about dream sharing and possibly more. It's likely that her subconscious is military trained. I doubt any one of us would want to risk navigating a mind like that."

"What were Melinda's motive?"

"All the money and the company inherited by the young Emily goes to Melinda who was to take care of them before Emily became of age."

"So money is her motivation. Well well, what a surprise."

In their line of job, money was pretty much always the motive but Arthur knew that this time, Eames might easily be proven wrong.

"That's our assumption but we could be wrong. Yusof, see if you can come up with something that allow us to go under long enough for three levels but without the risk of ending up in limbo. Eames, Elizabeth have arranged for you to work for Melinda..." Arthur trailed off purposefully, baiting Eames to ask the question.

Eames was quick to take the bait with a raised eyebrow.

"You will be her household servant."

Arthur couldn't help but relish the scrunched up face and wrinkled nose that signals distaste along with the narrowed eyes thrown at him by Eames. Ariadne drew a tiny smile out of him with the way she was tickled pink by the comment and was trying desperately to hide her amusement behind her hands.

"You mean butler."

"First footman to be exact. The butler whom you are replacing will be absent for one week. You should have adequate time to observe her."

"Thank you, Arthur, for assigning me to such an exciting job. What about Ariadne?"

Wiping the tiny smile off his face, he stills himself for the worst, "Meanwhile, during that one week, Ariadne and I will be at Cobb's. Cobb and I will be teaching Ariadne the art of extraction."


End file.
